“Name?”
The voice came from a small buzzer box on the wall beside the gate. It wasn’t powered by electricity – I knew, because if this place had even half the amount of magic flying around as Dragondale, where I’d qualified as a druid, then there was no way anything electronic would be working.
“Lyssa. Lyssa Eldridge.”
The gates swung open without a sound.
“Uh… I’ll just go in, then…”
I stooped to grab my bags. I’d brought the bare minimum, but somehow it still amounted to several suitcases.
“Do you always talk to yourself, Lyssa Eldridge?”
I yelped and my bags tumbled from my grasp.
“Kind of jumpy for a wannabe enforcer, aren’t you?”
I straightened and glared at the tall, well-built guy with close-cropped blond hair, a strong jawline, and a cocky smirk on his lips.
“I’m not a wannabe,” I said.
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see your black-trimmed cloak.”
“Yeah?” I stooped to grab my bags again. “I don’t see yours, either.”
He coughed and flashed his blue cloak at me, which was when I noticed the black border adorning it.
“Oh.” I flushed. “Kind of small, isn’t it?”
“Funny.” He didn’t sound amused, but he grabbed one of my bags from the floor. “Instructor Marston sent me to meet you. You’re late.”
“Sorry of my life,” I grumbled half-heartedly. I really did need to work on my time management skills. Being late on my first day wasn’t exactly a good look. My guide started down the long gravel track and I hurried along beside him. I’d have been on time if I hadn’t had to hunt all round the flat to find my cloak clasp. Well, probably.
“You’d think being able to portal anywhere would make it easier for you to arrive on time,” hot guy observed, eyeing me critically.
“Yeah, you’d think.”
The building wasn’t quite the size of Dragondale – closer to an old English manor house than a castle – but that still made it the second biggest building I’d ever been inside, and I just knew I was going to spend half the year getting lost. Being late was going to become a bad habit, especially without Kelsey around to keep me on track.
“Uh, how many acres is this place?”
Hot Guy glanced at me like he’d forgotten I was there, and then his brow furrowed like I was asking him the most ridiculous question. None of which went a long way to helping with my sudden onset of insecurity.
“The grounds? A few hundred acres, I suppose. Not including the rìoghachds.”
I was so screwed. And I knew all about rìoghachds. There were a few housing the most dangerous creatures at Dragondale. They looked like sheds and outhouses from the outside, but inside they covered dozens of acres and some even existed in different time zones.
“Is, uh, is anything inside any of them likely to try and eat me?”
He paused and looked me up and down in a distinctly unflattering way. This jackass – hot or not – was getting on my nerves.
“You sure scare easy for an enforcer.”
“Well, as you so kindly pointed out, I’m not an enforcer yet.”
“Ah, right. So you’re relying on them handing out a courage potion when you qualify?”
I spoke through gritted teeth.
“I don’t need a co– Wait, is that a real thing?”
“No, Zeke, it’s not. And if you’re scared of a little trouble, you should just turn around and head out of that gate right now.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Sure you’re not.”
I came to a stop at a junction in the corridor and glowered at him.
“Which way?” I asked, hating that I had to ask his guidance at all. The sooner I learned my way around, the better.
“Left,” he said, stepping past me and following the corridor to the left. “Dorms are in the east wing.”
The place was as vast inside as it had seemed from outside. The floors were immaculately polished wood, without a single scuff, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were protected by magic, or if some poor sod had to polish them. I hoped not, because knowing my luck, that poor sod would wind up being me.
The walls were lined with wooden panelling, and chandeliers were set into the high ceilings, keeping with the manor house theme, but when I looked closer, I could see that there were no candles in the chandeliers, just tiny floating fireballs that didn’t touch anything.
“Keep up, Zeke,” Hot Guy called from in front of me. “Don’t tell me you’re slow as well as scared.”
“I am not scared,” I said again, hurrying to catch up with him. “And my name is Lyssa.”
“Ah, yes, heaven forbid people don’t recognise you as the great Lyssa Eldridge.”
I got in front of him, blocking his path.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” he said, staring down at me, “that all your fame doesn’t impress me. Your victory over Raphael was down to luck, and you didn’t earn your way into Krakenvale – unlike every other trainee here.”
“I didn’t ask for the fame. And I didn’t ask for Raphael to try to kill me, either.”
“Which didn’t stop you accepting a golden ticket into the academy.”
“Despite the conclusions you seem to have reached without ever having me met,” I said, fighting to keep my cool and just barely pulling it off, “I do deserve to be here. And I’m going to prove it.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it. Well? Are you going to stand there all day? Instructor Marston will be giving his induction speech soon, and not everyone here makes a habit of being late.”
I huffed out my breath and moved aside. He stepped past and strode along the corridor. Great. Just what I needed. I’d barely been here two minutes, and I’d already made an enemy. Although in my defence, it sounded like I might have made that one before I even got here. He was wrong, though. I had earned my place. Alright, maybe not with grades in the more traditional way, but I’d risked my life fighting against the most dangerous druid the country had ever seen. Cauldwell didn’t offer me this placement out of pity – the man didn’t have any – he offered it to me because he knew I’d make a good enforcer. And if I had to prove it to everyone inside this place, then so be it.
Somewhere along the winding hallways and flights of stairs, I forced myself to take a breath and tried to see it from Hot Guy’s point of view. He was a prat, yes, but maybe he had a point. I hadn’t got the minimum grades to train here, and no-one who wasn’t really there knew all the details of the battle at Dragondale. Cauldwell hadn’t wanted word getting out of how close the druid world had come to falling, I guessed. So maybe it didn’t seem like I was here on merit. And really, I’d dealt with worse at Dragondale from Felicity and her ilk. It was just that I’d hoped the trainees here would be a little more above that sort of crap. More fool me, apparently.
“Alright, Zeke, this is your room.”
I rolled my eyes, but I was determined this time I wasn’t going to rise to Hot Guy’s bait.
“Do you have a name?” I blurted. I really had to stop thinking of him as ‘Hot Guy’.
“Obviously.”
On the other hand, maybe I could start thinking of him as ‘smartarse’. He pushed open a door and dumped my bag on the floor inside.
“Well, do you want to share it?”
“Oh, you’ll figure it out.”
“I… what?”
But he was already heading back along the corridor.
“Wait,” I called after him. “How am I supposed to know where to go for Instructor Marston’s talk?”
Dammit. I tossed my last bag inside, pulled the door shut and rushed after him, but he was already gone. Dammit!
I hurried round the first corner, then a second, and a third before being forced to admit that I didn’t have the faintest idea which way he’d gone – or where I was, much less where I w
as supposed to be going.
“You look lost.”
“Oh, my God, do they teach classes in sneaking up on people here?”
In my defence, this time the woman was five foot nothing with the build of a stick insect. She was built for sneaking up on people. Even her hair was short and jet black, a short, jagged bob on one side, and shaved on the other. She wore a red cloak – no trim – which made me realise I hadn’t stopped to grab mine before rushing after smartarse hot guy.
“Sorry,” she said with a grin. “Didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Zara, by the way.”
At least some people round here had names. I shook her outstretched hand.
“Lyssa. And yes, very lost. Apparently I’m supposed to be at some sort of induction talk thingy?”
“The Lyssa?” Her eyes widen a fraction, then she added with mock indifference, “I thought you’d be bigger.”
“Seems like everyone thinks something. It’s good to meet you, Zara. I don’t suppose you happen to know which way…”
I trailed off, gesturing to the junction in the hallway. Zara bounced on the balls of her feet and smiled.
“You’re in luck. I’m headed there now. Come on, it’s this way.”
She headed down the corridor confidently, and I fell into step beside her.
“You seem to know your way around pretty well,” I observed after we rounded the third corner, and I’d conceded that I couldn’t have found my way back out if you paid me to. “How long have you been studying here?”
“Oh, I arrived yesterday.”
“And you already have the place memorised?”
She shrugged. “Would it impress you if I said yes?”
“Hell yes, it would.”
“Well, sorry to disappoint.” She opened her palm, and I saw there was a small red dot on it, just a little off-centre. I frowned.
“What is it?”
“A magic-tracking spell. It detects huge sources of power – like when dozens of druid enforcer trainees gather in one room – and moves around my hand according to which way I need to go. See?”
She turned on her heel to face the other way, and the dot moved to the opposite side of her palm.
“It gives a little heat pulse so I don’t have to look at it constantly.”
“Oh, now I really am impressed. I have got to learn that spell.”
She frowned. “It’s not complicated. Didn’t your professor at Dragondale teach you?”
“Long story. I really wasn’t great at spellcrafting.”
I shuffled my feet and tried not to dwell on my painful lessons with Atherton. It was a miracle I hadn’t outright failed his exam and been held back at Dragondale for another year.
“Potions was my weak subject,” Zara said. “Too much like cooking for my liking. I mean, do I look like a homebody to you?”
I looked her up and down, from her half-shaved hairdo to her combat boots, and grinned.
“Nope. You look kickass.”
“Thanks. Shall we get going?”
Chapter Three
Instructor Marston stepped behind a podium and cleared his throat loudly. The chatter bouncing around the room quieted and then died away completely as everyone turned to focus on the academy’s head instructor. He was a short man, not much taller than me, and every inch of his body was covered in wiry muscle. A pair of scars stretched down from his chin to vanish beneath his shirt somewhere near his collarbone, like he’d been knifed or clawed – though I knew if it had been anything so simple, a healer would have cleared it up, and there’d have been no scars to remember it by. His hair was neatly combed with an off-centre parting, and looked completely out of place, as did the suit he was wearing. He looked like he’d be more at home in an enforcer’s uniform, which I suspected was what he’d spent most of his career wearing before being headhunted to run the academy.
“Good morning, everyone, and thank you for coming. I’m Instructor Marston, but you can all call me Elias – unless I’m in the process of arresting or expelling you.”
A couple of nervous chuckles sounded from off to one side of the room, and Elias carried on.
“Not, I’m sure, that there will be too much of that now that Mr Pollard has earned his trim.”
A few more laughs sounded, and Elias allowed himself a small smile before carrying on.
“Alright, settle down. I’ll try not to keep you here longer than necessary. To our new trainees: some of you have come directly from academies, and others may have a few years of experience out in the world. What you will quickly note is that we run things very differently here than you may be used to. You will be responsible for ensuring you attend as many lessons as you need, and should you fall behind, the onus will be on you to catch back up again. Few classes are compulsory – but I promise you, the instructors don’t teach these classes for their own amusement. Attend as many as you can.”
Well, that was refreshing after Dragondale’s strict regime – and utterly terrifying. Who on earth thought it was a good idea for me to be in charge of my own timetable? I’d barely made it to work on time every day during my break after Dragondale, and even then, there’d been someone telling me what to do when I got there.
“Those of you returning for your second and third year, you know the drill. You’ll sit your assessments in May. That gives you nine months. Please do not squander them. If you have any problems, bring them to me or one of your instructors. Keep an eye on the trainees, keep your familiars under control, and have a good year. Classes start tomorrow. Thank you, everyone.”
He stepped down from the podium, and everyone started getting to their feet. Some of the trainees slung bags over their shoulders – which reminded me I had absolutely no idea how to get back to my room and all my stuff.
I turned to Zara.
“I don’t suppose that fancy trick of yours is any good for getting back to where we came from?”
“Nope, but I’m happy to be your moral support when you’re hopelessly lost.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but her eyes slid from my face to someone behind me. I snapped my mouth shut and turned around, and found myself staring at a pair of scars running from chin to collarbone.
“Instructor, uh, Marston…” I started, fighting the urge to take a step back from him.
“Elias is fine,” he reminded me, with a small smile.
“Oh, right, yes Pro– I mean, Elias.” That was going to take some getting used to.
“And you’re Lyssa.”
I nodded.
“Stop by my office later this afternoon. I’d like a chat.”
I nodded again and he turned and left before I could get any questions out, like where his office actually was, and how I’d managed to get into trouble already. Zara looked faintly impressed.
“You’re a troublemaker,” she said with a grin.
“No, I’m not… Or at least, not on purpose.”
“Yeah, sure.” She grinned again.
“Anyway, I don’t make trouble,” I said. “It just kind of… finds me.”
I’d barely finished speaking when a guy shuffled along the row of chairs. I made to move out of his way, but before I could, he fixed me with a glare and pushed past, barging his shoulder against mine.
“See?” I stared after him for a moment. “What was that all about? What did I do now?”
“Look around,” Zara said.
I did, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be looking for. My brow furrowed in confusion as I turned back to her.
“Look closer,” she said. “How many women do you see in this room?”
I looked again. The hall was half-empty, but I scanned the hundred or so faces still milling around, and….
“Oh!” I hadn’t noticed before, but there were maybe half a dozen women in the room other than us. That was a pretty high guy to gal ratio.
“Yeah. Some of the boneheads round here don’t think girls should be allowed to join the academy. Some macho crap.”
/> “Great. Maybe I should have just gone and flown for the Hornets.”
Zara gaped at me.
“Are you serious? You turned down a position with the Essex Hornets to be here?”
I shrugged. “I can do more good here.”
“Yeah, but…” She let out a low whistle and shook her head. “The Hornets?”
“Do you play?”
She linked her arm through mine and steered us out of the hall. Time to make a start on that whole getting lost thing, I supposed.
“Not me. I tried out for the team back at Gryphonvale, but my gryff bolted and dumped me in the lake. That was the end of that.”
I laughed.
“Yeah, they can be surly,” I agreed. Still, I’d missed riding since I left Dragondale. But I’d made my decision. Riding for a professional Itealta team would have been fun, sure, but I needed more from life than that. A chance to make a real difference. Assuming I wasn’t about to get kicked out on my first day.
“So, what do you want to do when you finish studying?” Zara asked, as we followed a group of more confident looking trainees from a safe enough distance that they hopefully weren’t wondering why we followed them.
“What do you mean? Be an enforcer, of course.”
Zara laughed, then her face fell when she saw my obvious confusion. “Oh, I’m sorry! I just meant, well, what branch of enforcement do you want to go into?”
“There are different branches?”
“Please tell me you’re joking?”
We rounded a corner and kept strolling.
“Well, I could tell you that if it would make you feel better…”
“Okay. There are over half a dozen different branches of law enforcement, and then different departments within those branches. The department isn’t too important right now, but you’re going to need to decide what branch you want to go into by the end of next year. After that, the classes get more specialised. Hey, what room number did you say you were in?”
Familiar Magic (Druid Enforcer Academy Book 1) Page 2
